Down in this thread David Justus wrote a thoughtful commentary, at one point wondering if the negative effects of abortion on the body (I was writing specifically about "chi" or "energy") would be similar in the case of a miscarriage or spontaneous abortion.Clearly, the energetic (whatever you want to call it) effects on a body would not be the same, because the circumstances are completely different in terms of human body chemistry, and I just wanted to touch briefly on that with regards to … [Read more...]

Dana over at North Shore Politics writes "although I am not even a practicing Catholic, I was offended by it."By what? This statement made this morning on ABC news:What our viewers will notice is that, among these 115 cardinals, who are wearing what looks like women's garb, that there are no women. That is something the next pope is going to have to address.Says Dana: I was disgusted by that. How disrespectful for one (thing) and pompous for another.I thought it was a stupid, … [Read more...]

A very good article sent my way by my dear little brother, Thom, who is the most truly CENTRIST person I know, always fair.Anyway - here are women who knew John Paul the Great, and who advanced in their work because of him, speaking about the changes he has wrought:"If you knock the issue of ordination off the table, women have advanced significantly," even at the Vatican, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in Rome this week.The Vatican … [Read more...]

Charlotte Allen at the Independent Women's Forum has an excellent piece up, detailing what happened to one woman who - via a sonorgram - learned that her daughter would be born profoundly disabled, and opted to give birth to and love her daughter for as long as she lived.The whole story is from a feature in the Wapo Magazine and it's well-worth reading. For all that feminists and others insist that abortion is a "choice," it seems when a woman carrying a less-than-perfect infant chooses life, … [Read more...]

It's funny, but Dr. Charles Krauthammer, a Democrat and secular Jewish fellow who says he is "not much of a believer" seems to "get" John Paul II so very well.We'll be seeing and reading a lot about how "Catholic women are dissatisfied" with the church, and that JPII did not do enough. Please keep in mind that the folks making these claims are not speaking for all Catholic women. There is authentic and thoughtful teaching behind all of the issues which critics say the church "MUST bring into the … [Read more...]

I'm not a subscriber to TIME magazine, but a reader named Jake gave me a head's up on this week's cover story, re the increasing willingness of Protestants to regard Mary as a peculiarly outstanding sort of disciple. I know that a lot of Protestants have difficulty with Mariology - there are so many misconceptions out there about what Catholics actually believe; this is new interest in her is really promising. The Catholic Church has a treasure chest of writing and thinking regarding this woman … [Read more...]

I haven't written much about Maureen Dowd lately, because I frankly haven't been reading her - she is so much eye-rolling drivel these days, having, as she does, only two themes left. The first theme, of course is the Yosemite Sam Rootin Tootin, "that varmit Bush, aaaaahhhhhhh hates him! I hates him!" The second theme is "boo-hoo, lookit me, I'm so good at my job but it's cost me the love of men, and men mostly suck, anyway!"Her most recent column is more on Theme #2. I should mention that since … [Read more...]

I cannot imagine having so little going on in my life - or being so incredibly self-absorbed - that an actress' speech could move me to feel "hurt," "offended," or "left out" because she, in describing HER life, didn't take MY life into consideration.Sob, sob sob! Oomp, Oomp, Oomp! Mean old Jada Oompitt Smit' onwy tawked about hew own oomp and she's not gay!!! Oomp! Oomp! Ohh, boohoooo! I feew so weft out becawse she wasn't oomping more sensitiwe wanguwage!!! Sob! Sob! Oomp! (shuddery breath) … [Read more...]

We've been reading for a few days now about Susan Estrich's latest meltdown and her loud, obnoxious efforts to curry favor with the LA Times by screaming at them. She says she speaks for many women. She writes a letter over the names of 50 of them and then threatens Michael Kinsley that if he doesn't publish it, she'll just have to walk it over to Drudge.When Kinsley rightly bristles at being strong-armed and, essentially, blackmailed, Estrich rants that he owes her an apology - no one in the … [Read more...]

No...you're not reading that wrong. And that's not a headline from The Onion, either.Ms. Newmark at Betsy's Page relates a story about Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C that really shouldn't be too surprising, coming on the heels of that over-emoting-shrinking-violet, Professor Nancy Hopkins from MIT - you remember her, the babe who swooned because Harvard President Lawrence Summers (while clearly saying he wanted his hypothesis to be proved wrong) posed an academic question about the differences in … [Read more...]